"Windows 8 is on track to Release to Manufacturing the first week of August. For enterprise customers with Software Assurance benefits, they will have full access to Windows 8 bits as early as August. Additionally, she noted that RTM is when we’ll be turning on the commerce platform so that developers can start earning money for their apps. [...] Tami went on to say that Windows 8 will reach general availability by the end of October! This means that new Windows 8 and Windows RT PCs will be available to buy and upgrades will be available starting in October. She also mentioned that that Windows 8 will be available in 109 languages across 231 markets worldwide."

Having tried the release candidate, I am not enthusiastic about Windows 8. It is probably alright on a tablet PC, but it is a bit of a pain to use on a PC. I do not understand why we cannot select explorer or metro mode on first login with the option of changing it later in the control panel.